Ofcom to take no action against Capital Xtra over pay-for-play claims

Ofcom has said it will not take action against Capital Xtra over claims that one of the radio station’s DJs asked for payments of £200 to play songs on his weekly show.

The broadcasting watchdog said DJ Tiiny had been dismissed by the station after the allegations surfaced.

The DJ had previously apologised for his actions, saying he had learnt “a much-needed lesson”.

According to Ofcom rules, no commercial arrangement that involves payment to the broadcaster may influence the selection or rotation of music for broadcast.

The watchdog said it considered the matter “resolved”.

Ofcom said Global, the company that runs Capital Xtra, was made aware of the allegations on January 27 and terminated DJ Tiiny’s contract the following day.

An Ofcom spokeswoman said: “Given the swift action and remedial steps that Global took when learning of this allegation, we consider the matter resolved.”

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Ofcom said it considered the matter ‘resolved’ (Yui Mok/PA)

The claims initially emerged from a tweet by producer J Beatz, who posted a screengrab of an email purportedly written by the DJ and featuring a request for money.

It was alleged that DJ Tiiny had asked for a payment of £200 to play songs on his weekly radio show.

DJ Tiiny, whose real name is Frank Boakye-Yiadom, had been broadcasting on Capital Xtra since 2018, with a Friday night show that featured hip-hop, R&B and grime.

He has previously toured with stars including Stormzy.

Capital Xtra has been contacted for comment.

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